Straight line earth drilling apparatus



July 1955 w. E. JOHNSON ETAL 3,

STRAIGHT LINE EARTH DRILLING APPARATUS Filed June 2', 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS 38 5 J MY/iam f. Jofinson Jen-f 1?. 10/1190 ATTORNEY J y 1965' i w. E. JOHNSON ETAL. 3,

STRAIGHT LINE EARTH DRILLING APPARATUS Filed June 2 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 63 2 l ls I l I r mvrsm'ons I l I l V6! M'//1am/a14ns0n 7 7/ Jerry aluau/K5012 J i 20' 0 BY m fiw 7 U 60 7 ATTORNEY y 20, 1955 w. E. JOHNSON ETAL 3,195,656

Q STRAIGHT LINE EARTH DRILLING APPARATUS Filed June 2, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS Wi/b'am Jaason Jerry Lari/150a BY %WM/%MH ATTORNEY y 2-6, 19355' w. E. JOHNSON ETAL 3,195,656

STRAIGHT LINE EARTH DRILLING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 2 1961 2:5 c wcoE Inventors: Ml/iamfikfiuson Jerry/ZLa/kson s e i *nrr- BR lmiNG er rcs This invention relates to new and useful improvements in earth drilling apparatus, and in particular the invention concerns itself with apparatus for drilling vertical holes in the roof of a coal mine, or the like, for reception of bolts for installing roofing, so that such roofing may be supported by the bolts without the use of conventional props, shoring, timbers, et cetera.

More specifically, the principal object of the invention is to provide a drilling apparatus including a drill, a boom for supporting and feeding the drill during the drilling oneration, a mobile carrier for the boom, and novel linkage means for controlling and guiding the boom so that the feeding movement of the drill follows a straight line path, axially of the drill stem or bit, such as is not possible when the boom is restricted to a simple, pivotal swinging movement.

An important feature of the invention, therefore, resides in the provision and arrangement or the aforementioned linkage means which facilitate the straight line feed of the drill, while another important feature resides in the arrangement of the linkage means and boom which is such as to require the minimum amount of vertical clearance for operation, thereby facilitating use of the apparatus in coal mines, or the like, Where the mined strata or seams are very thin, perhaps as little as twentyeight inches thick. in other words, a practical embodiment of the apparatus may be constructed which need not exceed an overall height of twenty-three inches prior to feeding of the drill, thus allowing sufficient clearance to permit the use of the apparatus even in mined strata of the limited dimension as rnentioined above.

Another feature of the invention resides in the arovision of means for mointing the drill carrying boom on the mobile carrier for lateral swinging movement so as to locate the point of drilling at any desired place in the roof of the mine, while another feature resides in the provision of means for turning the boom about a horizontal axis, so that if desired, the apparatus may be used for drilling holes in the side walls or floor or the mine as well as in the roof.

Some of the advanta es of the invention reside in its simplicity of constructition, in its dependable and positive operation, in its compact arrangement as aforesaid, and in its adaptability to convenient and economical manufacture.

With the foregoing more important objects and features 'm view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are use to designate like parts, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the boom, guide arm, linkage and mount used in the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the boom, guide arm and linkage, taken substantially in the plane of the line 2-2 in FEGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 3-3 in FEGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 4 in FIG- URE 1;

Patented July 20 1965 FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 5-5 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view of the entire drilling apparatus on a reduced scale, including the mobile carrier therefor;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in section, showing a modified embodiment of the invention;

FEGURE 8 is a fragmentary sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 8-8 in FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary top plan view of the embodiment of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE it) is a fragmentary sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line ltl-It@ in FIGURE 7;

ll is a top plan view on a reduced scale, of the embodiment of FIGURE 7, and

FIGURE 12 is a diagramatic illustration showing the operation of the linkage used in the invention.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, more particularly to FIGURES 16 inclusive, the earth drilling apparatus in accordance with the invention is des ignated generally by the reference numeral ill and, although pri narily intended for use in drilling vertical holes in the roof of mines for reception of bolts in installation of rooting, it will be understood that the apparatus may be also on loyed for drilnng in the side walls or floors of mines, or the like, as will be hereinafter apparent.

in any event, the drilling apparatus embodies in its construction a suitable mobile carrier ill such as a selfpowered mine car, or the lilre, traveling along the mine floor 12 or along traclis on the mine floor, as the case may be. The apparatus also includes a power-operated dri supported at the outer end of a swingable boom d and, as shown in FIGURE 6, the drill 13 has a drill stem or bit which may be rotary, reciprocably impact, or both, so as to drill a vertical hole in the roof 15 of the while the boom lid is swung or moved upwardly in a vertical plane. The outer end of the boom M is givoted to the drill as at 36. Also pivoted to the drill at a poin spaced vertically from the pivot is a guide arm l"? which coacts with the boom lid to support the drill so that the drill stem 1.3 is vertically disposed at all times during raising and lowering of the boom, the pivotal connection of the outer end of the guide arm to the drill being indicated at 18.

Means are employed for mounting the boom 14 on the carrier El and controlling the movement of the boom as veil as of the guide arm it? so that the drill stem 13 all be advanced or fed into the mine roof 15 along a traight line, vertical path notwithstanding the raising .nd lowering movement of the boom and guide arm. hese means, shown in detail in FEGURES 1-5, comprise n angle bracket 19 which is secured by suitable bolts, or the in to the carrier Ill and is provided with a vertical pivot pin The latter has mounted thereon a hori- Zontally c-r laterally swingable frame 21, including a horizontal glare provided at the underside of one of its end portions with a tubular standard 23. The latter is 'verically disposed and the inside thereof is equipped with bearings or bushings M rotatably receiving the pin so that the frame 21 is swingable laterally or hori zontally in the pivot pin, whereby to effect positioning of the boom rd and of the drill t3 at any desired point transversely of the mine roof 25, it being understood, of course, t at positioning of the drill longitudinally in the mine may be adjusted as desired by longitudinal movc merit of the mobile carrier ll along the mine floor l2.

Rererring again to the frame 21, the same also includes a vertical web 25 having a forked lower portion 26 to accommodate a transverse pivot pin 27 on which is mounted a depending ear 28 at the lower end of a fluid operator such as a hydraulic or compressed air cylinder 29 which extends upwardly through a clearance recess 3%) formed in the plate 22. The operator 2.9 has a piston rod 31 extending upwardly therefrom and connected to a transverse pivot pin 33 disposed adjacent the inner end of the boom ltd. As is best shown in FIGURES 2 and 4, the boom 14 comprises a pair of spaced side members 14? in which the pivot pin 33 is mounted, and a pair of bushings or spacers 34 are provided on the pivot pin between the upper end of the piston rod 31 and the boom side members, as will be clearly apparent. The boom side members 14 are connected together adjacent their inner ends, that is, adjacent the frame 21, by a transverse reinforcing plate 35, and the bushings or spacers 34 on the pin 33 are provided with link-shaped ears or arms 35 which are connected by coaxial pivot pins 37 to a pair of upstanding, rigid hangers 33, secured to the top of the frame plate 22 at opposite sides of the recess 3%. The inner end of the boom lid is equipped with a transverse pivot pin 39 on which is mounted one end of a link 49, the latter being wide enough to span the space between the boom side members 14 and having its other end mounted on a pivot pin 43., extending transversely between a pair of upstanding support plates 52 provided on the frame plate 22. a

The length of the links 36, and the location of the pivots 33, 37, 39 and ill is so coordinated or proportioned to the length of the boom 14 that during raising and lowering of the boom, the outer end of the boom, that is, the pivot 16, travels in a straight line, vertical path, whereby the feed of thedrill stem w may also follow the same path, under guidance of the guide arm 17, the outer end of which also travels in a straight line, vertical path during the raising and lowering movement of the boom, as will be hereinafter explained.

The inner end of the guide arm 17 is provided with a fork 43 which straddles and is connected by a pivot pin 44 to a radial arm 45 secured to a tube 46 which is mounted on a pivot pin 47 extending transversely between the boom side members l i at a point between the aforementioned pivot pins 33 and 39. The tube 46 also has rigidly secured thereto an arm 48, disposed angularly from the arm 45, and pivoted as at 49 to one end of a link member 5d, the other end of the latter being pivoted as at 51 to an upstanding plate 52 provided on the frame plate 22. Thus, the arms 45 and 48, together with the portion of the tube 46 therebetween, constitute what may be referred to as a bell crank, operatively connecting the inner end'of the guide arm 17 to the link member 50, and hence to the frame 21, the proportional relationship of the various parts being such that during the raising and lowering movement of the boom 14 as already decribed, the outer end of the guide arm, that is, the pivot 18, also moves along a straight line path, vertically with the boom pivot 16 so that the stem 13 of the drill 13 guided accordingly, as will be apparent from the solid line and dotted line illustrations in FIGURE 6.

The operation of the linkage will be understood from the diagrammatical illustration in FIGURE 12. This shows the parts in a lowered position of the boom by solid lines, in an intermediate position by dash lines, and in a raised position by dot-dash lines.

It is to be understood that the straight line travel of the drill stem during raising and lowering of the boom is made possible by a particular dimensional proportioning and geometric arrangement of the linkage involved and that this proportioning and arrangement are also coordinated with the length of the boom. In other words, linkage which is proportioned to a boom of a given length to provide a straight line travel of the drill stem would not provide such straight line travel if the boom were longer or shorter. Thus, it longer or shorter booms are to be used, the proportion of the linkage has to be coordi nated therewith, although it will be appreciated that only the proportions are critical, while actual sizes are of no consideration. In order to illustrate the linkage arrangement in FIGURE 12 large enough for sake of'cla'rity, the

full length of the boom has not been shown. However, if the length of the arm 396 (that is, the radial distance from the pivot axis 37 to the pivot axis 33) is arbitrarily adopted as One Dimensional Unit, then the length of the boom 14 from the pivot axis 33 to the drill pivot 16 would be 13 /2 dimensional units; All other parts of the linkageare'dimensioned in'the proportion shown.

It will be apparent from FIGURE 12 that when the boom is lowered as shown by the solid lines and commences to be raised by application of upward force (by the cylinder 25) to the pivot 33, the arms 36 will swing about the axis 3'7 until a position is reached wherein the points 16 and 33 are horizontally aligned with the point 37, this being an intermediate position of the boom shown by dash lines, wherein the location of the points and 33 is indicated at in and 33, respectively. During this travel the pivot 33 moves in an are 8% about the axis 37 so that as the location of the pivot 33 rises, it becomes horizontally further'away from the axis 37 and correspondingly also becomes horizontally further away from a vertical line 81 which is parallel to the straight vertical travel of the drill stem and passes through the pivot 16 in the lowered position of the boom. Thus, the pivot 16 will move upwardly along the straight line illl to the position 16. In the meantime, of course, the boom 14 is guided by the link it? so that the boom pivot 39 swings in an are 82 about the axis lll and when the boom is in the intermediate position shown by the dash lines, the pivot 39 assumes the position 3%, so that the lowered boom as shown at 14 is translated to a horizontal intermediate position 14', at which time the point 39' is in horizontal alignment with the aforementioned horizontally aligned points 16', 37, 33': i

During the raising of the boom from the lowered to the intermediate position, the bell crank pivot 47 has shifted to the position 47', while the pivot 49 which connects the bell crank member 43 to the. link 56 has shifted to the position 49' and the pivot 44 of the bell crank member a 45 has shifted to the position 44. As a result, the guide arm 17 of the boom has been translated to the position 17' and the pivot 18 which connects the guide arm to the drill has been raised to the position 18 along the same straight line 31 which represents the course of travel of the pivot 16. It therefore will be appreciated that the .drill stem'is not only maintained vertical, but is also raised in a straight, vertical path.

When the boom is raised above the intermediate, horizontal position shown bythe dash lines at 14 to a fully raised position at 14'', the pivot Siltravels further along the arc 8d and in so doing moves horizontally toward the line 81 until it reaches the position 33". V In that position the points l6, 18, 39', 49 and 44' will assume the positions 16", 13", 39", 29" and 44", respectively,

and with the guide arm in the position 17", the fully raised position of the drill will be reached while preserving the straight line travel of the drill stem and maintaining the drill stem vertical. As a practical matter, the boom 14- in its lowered position may be at an angle of approximately 13 from the horizontal, and approximately 15 from the horizontal in its raised position 14'.

It is to be particularly noted that when the boom is in its lowered position as shown by solid lines in FIGURE 6,

.the overall height of the apparatus is relatively small,

placed by another of a greater length and the drilling operation continued until a hole, of the desired length 'has been drilled.

While the foregoing apparatus as shown in FIGURES 1-6 has been described with reference to drilling vertical holes in the roof of a mine, FIGURES 7-11 illustrate a modified embodiment of the invention which permits the drilling of holes in the side walls or the floor of the mine.

In such a modified embodiment, the frame plate 2.2 is provided at the underside thereof with a bearing 55 which is aligned with a bearing 56 secured to the web 25, the bearings 55, 56 being equipped with bushings 57, 58, respectively, for a pivot pin 20. The latter is secured in and extends through a sleeve 59 which is disposed between the bearings 55, 56 and is afiixed to one end of a horizontal tube 60, rotatably mounted on a horizontal supporting shaft 61. One end of the shaft 61 is secured to a mounting plate 62 which is suitably attached to the mobile carrier 11, and the end of the tube $9 adjacent the plate 62 is provided with a bracket 63, having pivoted thereto by a pin 5 one end of a fluid operator 65. The latter includes a reciprocable piston rod 66 which is connected by a removable pivot pin 67 selectively to a pair of rigid, apertured ear members 68 projecting to opposite sides from the frame plate 22, it being apparent from the foregoing that when the apparatus is in the position shown in FIGURES 7, 9 and ll, actuation of the fluid operator 65 will swing the entire boom 14 in a horizontal plane as indicated by the arrows 69, so as to position the drill l3 transversely of the mine for vertical drilling at any desired point.

Moreover, by simply rotating the tube 6% on the supporting shaft 61, the axis of the pivot pin 26), may be shifted from the vertical to the horizontal, this shifting being accompanied by a corresponding translation of the boom 14 and of the drill 13 so that the drill stem or bit 13 is oriented laterally for horizontal drilling in either side wall of the mine. Also, by rotating the tube so on the shaft 51 through 130 from the position shown in FIGURE 7, the drill 13 may be disposed so that its stern 13 is oriented downwardly rather than upwardly or laterally, for vertical drilling in the mine floor.

The tube 68 and shaft 61 are provided with sets of vertically registrable apertures 79 and horizontally registrable apertures 71 to selectively receive a removable keeper pin 72, whereby the tube 6% may be locked in the desired position on the shaft 61 for either vertical or horizontal drilling. Rotation of the tube 60 on the shaft 1 is effected manually (after removal of the keeper pin 72) by means of a suitable hand bar or rod 73, inserted in an apertured boss 74- formed on the web 25, as will be apparent from FIGURE 8.

While the fluid operator d5 may be double-acting so as to swing the boom 14 in either direction, its piston rod 66 may be selectively attached to the two car members as of the plate 22 for pushing action only, particularly if only a single-acting operator is employed.

It will be also observed that with the pivot pin 29' disposed vertically, the operator 65 will swing the boom 14 from side to side for locating the drill stem H at any desired point transversely of the mine for vertical drilling in either the roof or the floor. On the other hand, with the pivot pin 23 disposed horizontally, the operator 65 may also be used for swinging the boom "r4 upwardly and downwardly, so as to locate the drill stem vertically in the mine for horizontal drilling operations in the mine side walls.

While in the foregoing there have been described and shown the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure and various modifications may be resorted to, falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed What is claimed as new is:

l. In an earth drilling apparatus, the combination of a mobile carrier, a support mounted on said carrier for turning movement about a horizontal axis, a frame mounted on said support for turning movement about an axis transverse to said horizontal axis, an elongated boom having an inner end portion pivotally connected to said frame for swinging movement of the boom in .a plane parallel to said transverse axis, and a drill carried by the outer end of said boom.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 together with .a fluid operator connected to and reacting between said frame and said support for turning the frame about said transverse axis.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1 together with means for releasably locking said support in a'predetermined position relative to said carrier.

4. In a straight line drilling apparatus, the combination of a supporting frame, a first horizontal pivot pin on said frame, a first link having one end thereof mounted on said first pin, an elongated boom having an outer end and an inner end, a first pivot connecting the other end of said first link to the inner end of said boom, said first pivot under the guidance of said first link being movable in an are located above said first pin, a second horizontal pivot pin provided on said frame in parallel with said first pin, a second link having one end thereof mounted on said second pin, a second pivot connecting the other end of said second link to the inner end portion of said boom at a point spaced outwardly from the first pivot, said second pivot under the guidance of said second link being 1novable in an are located at that side of the second pin which is adjacent the inner end of the boom and the parts being proportioned so that when the boom is raised and lowered relative to said frame the outer end of the boom travels in a straight line, a bell crank pivotally connected to the inner end portion of the boom at a point between said first and second pivots, said bell crank including a first arm and a second arm, a third pivot pin provided on said frame in parallel to the first and second pins, a link member swingably mounted on said third pivot pin [and pivotally connected to the first arm of said bell crank, a guide arm disposed adjacent said boom and having an outer end and an inner end, the inner end of said guide arm being pivotally connected to the second arm of said bell crank, the position of the bell crank relative to the boom being shifted by said link member during swinging movement of the boom so that the outer end of said guide arm also travels in a straight line, and a drill pivotally mounted at the outer ends of the boom and guide arm.

5. The combination as defined in claim 4 together with a fluid operator connected to said frame and to said boom for imparting :a swinging movement to the latter.

6. The combination as defined in claim 4;- together with an extensible and retractable fluid operator connected at one end thereof to said frame and connected at its other end to one of said pivots.

7. In a straight line drilling apparatus, the combination of a drill including a drill stem, a boom having an inner end portion and an outer end, the outer end of said boom being pivoted to said drill, a guide arm disposed adjacent said boom and having an inner end and an outer end, the outer end of said guide arm being pivoted to said drill at a point spaced from the outer end of the boom in a direction parallel to the axis of the drill stem, a supporting frame, first and second pivot pins provided in parallel relation on said frame and extending transversely of the boom, a first link swingably mounted on the first pivot pin and pivotally connected to the inner end of the boom, a second link swingably mounted on the second pivot pin and pivotally connected to the inner end portion of the boom at a point spaced longitudinally from the first link, the pivotal connection of the first link to the boom. under the guidance of the first link being movable in an arc located above said first pivot pin, the pivotal connection of the second link to the boom under the guidance of the second link being movable in an arc located at that side of said second pivot pin which is adjacent the inner end of the boom and the parts being proportioned so that when the boom is swung relative to said frame the outer end of the boom travels in a straight line, and means operlatively connecting the inner end of said guide arm to the inner end portion of the boom and to said frame so that the outer end of the gnide arm also travels in a straight line during the swinging movement of the boom.

8. The combination as defined in claim '7 wherein said means comprise a bell cnank pivotally mounted on the inner end portion of said boom for rocking movement in a plane parallel to the swinging movement of the boom, said bell crank including a pair of arms, one arm of the bell crank being pivotally connected to the inner end of said guide arm, and a guide link pivotally connected at one end thereof to the second arm of the bell crank, the other end of said guide link being pivotally connected to said frame.

0. The combination as defined in claim '7 together with an'extensible and retractable fluid operator for imparting swinging movement to said boom, one end of said fluid 3 operator being pivotally connected to said frame and the other end thereof being pivotally connected to said boom.

,Eeflferences (Iited by'the Examiner UNETED STATES PATENTS 1,146,404 7/15 Coifman 74-41 2,410,508 11/46 Larnrne 175-123 2,414,072 1/47 Taft 175-123 2,557,637 6/51 Danuser 173-38 2,565,224 8/51 Gibbens 173-22 7 2,799,236 7/57 Marforio et a1. 74-103 2,815,191 12/57 Beltz 175-123 3,020,012 2/62 Moracco et al 175-201 FOREIGN PATENTS 785,754 11/57 Great Britain.

BROUGHTON G. DURHAM, Primoiy Examiner. 

1. IN AN EARTH DRILLING APPARATUS, THE COMBINATION OF A MOBIL CARRIER, A SUPPORT MOUNTED ON SAID CARRIER FOR TURNING MOVEMENT ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS, A FRAME MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT FOR TUNNING MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS TRANSVERSE TO SAID HORIZONTAL AXIS, AN ELONGATED BOOM HAVING AN INNER END PORTION PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID 